Everything You Need to Know About Interview Preparation
To perform to the best of your ability in an interview, it is essential to prepare correctly. However good you are at your job, interviewing is a skill like any other which requires work, thought and planning.
Here at GxPeople Global, we prepare candidates before every stage of the interview process using our knowledge of the specific role, the company and its culture, our initial CV review with the client and post-interview feedback, along with our experience of managing many successful interview processes over the years.
If you are applying for a job through an agent and they are not providing you this support, you should ask why! If they don’t suggest a preparation call, make sure that you ask for one yourself...
While interview processes vary in structure, and each role has different requirements, many of these points are general and relevant across the board.
Strategy
The first thing to do is understand what the key elements of the role are and what skills and competencies are required. This is what you will likely be tested on, so your examples should be tailored to the needs of the role. In our experience, the best way to answer questions is to provide concrete examples (real examples, not theoretical) that demonstrate these competencies, skills, and experiences. These should generally be structured into 3 parts:
- What was the issue?
- What did you do to resolve it?
- What was the result?
Standard examples that are always good to prepare are the following - however, these might apply to some roles more than others:
Examples
How have you managed a complex situation?
This could be technical, people management, dealing with regulatory bodies, etc. – these depend on the requirements of the role:
- Dealing with a highly pressurised situation
- Dealing with difficult members of staff
- Managing conflict
- Managing change – cultural and technical
- Having developed and improved people
- Having made improvements to a business unit or area
- Having demonstrated flexibility / pragmatism etc.
- The ability to work collaboratively
- Decision-making
- Influencing or negotiating ability
Motivation
- What interests you about the job? Why are you looking to leave your current job?
- What do you like about the company? (Research on the company is essential!)
- Have you researched the area and spoken with your family (if relocation is necessary)?
- What are your longer-term goals/interests?
Advice
Be aware that clear and concise answers are essential, and make sure that you don't waffle – many candidates are rejected because they speak too much and go off topic. If you are unclear whether you have given the ‘right’ example the first time, clarify this with the interviewer rather than launching into another example.
Never badmouth your current or old company – this appears negative and often goes down badly with many interviewers.
Put yourself in the situation of the hiring manager – what would you want to know and what concerns might you have about your application?
Think about what your strengths are and your development areas (a candidate who doesn’t know their own weaknesses is displaying a lack of self-awareness).
Make sure you think about what YOU have done and contributed to a role / project – were you part of a team or were you leading? What did you specifically do?
Think about what your plan would be upon joining the company – i.e. what would be your 3-step process for making the necessary improvements?
It is always better to over-prepare! Even if the interview is described as a ‘getting to know you’ exploratory call, this is often not the case in reality.
While it is important to highlight your achievements, overconfidence can easily be perceived as arrogance. Stay humble and don't brag.
Make sure you prepare some questions for the end of the interview - you will almost certainly get an opportunity to ask these.
If you would like professional support while searching for a new role in the areas of quality, technical operations and regulatory affairs in the pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and medical devices industries, please contact us. We will be happy to help you!